Do you ever have one of those years where you should have stayed in a locked room with all the windows bolted shut? I feel that way this morning.

Moose, the Chocolate Lab, has been doing relatively well. He actually had a real stool specimen yesterday instead of diarrhea, which is always a good sign. He’s getting up by himself and continuing to eat well.

Ralphie, on the other hand, not so much. Ralphie is my “failure to thrive” kitten that I adopted from a Shelter where I volunteered. I think I posted about him before.

Anyway, I went down the hall to the office to do a little work and he was in the sitting room. I heard him cry out….which he does when he can’t find me, so I didn’t think too much of it. I called for him and he came in and jumped on his chair. Then he started looking back at his back legs like something had bit him. Then he started walking in circles. THAT freaked me out.

I got him back into the sitting room and he seemed okay. He jumped up on the couch back and took a long nap, snoring because he has a stuffy nose. When he woke up, he went right back to the circling thing.

I grabbed my trusty homeopathic book for cats and gave him Aconitum (200c) and another dose 30 minutes later. He continued to walk in a circle. After checking other websites, I opted to give him some Belladonna (30c) and 30 minutes later, Arnica (30c). He finally settled down but I didn’t get much sleep last night.

No more circles this morning. He’s quite weak, keeps bending his front paw when he walks and he’s dragging. Wasn’t quite sure what to do with the dry cat food, but he did manage to eat his wet cat food (made wetter with some bottled water). This is a cat that jumps off the bed 4-5 times a night to munch, mind you.

He used his litter box this morning and he actually played with his sister and with a string attached to one of his toys. He’s now on Conium (30c) for 10 days.

He’s resting comfortably on the rug in our sitting room. That isn’t common. Usually he’s up on the couch, on his scratch post or on my lap. This is going to be a tough one.

UPDATE: I’ve been doing a lot of reading on Vestibular Disease. The more I read, the more I think (hope!) this is what Ralphie is dealing with. Check out this blog: http://felinevestibular.blogspot.com/2007/07/feline-vestibular-syndrome.html.

I gave him one pellet of Nux Vomica to help with his dizziness. He’s been sleeping a lot (as cats do) but he does get up and wander around for a few minutes, then goes and lays back down. Here’s hoping.

Several months ago, when I was visiting with my cats, doing the usual feeding, watering and cleaning litter boxes, I noticed that Mosby acted very stiff-necked. I thought perhaps he slept wrong or perhaps his cystitis was acting up again. The did occur to me that maybe he had had a stroke – afterall, he is 22 years old.

I continued his cystitis therapy, the Cantharis in his food, twice a day, plus some Lysine and an occasional smidgen of Vitamin C crystals. I didn’t have the wherewithal at the time to figure out – gee, maybe he DID have a stroke and I should do something about it.

Today, as I read my “Cats Homeopathic Remedies” book by George Macleod, I came across Diseases of the Nervous System. The 2nd article in the book was, ta-da!, Strokes.

Some of the clinical signs include: Paralysis of facial or head muscles or more extensive paralysis of one side of the body. Mild cases may show little more than incoordination and a tendency to circle to one side or the other.

I felt like I had been hit by a brick. The paralysis, the weak legs, the stiff neck – weren’t due to cystitis or Urinary Tract diseases, more than likely they were signs of a mild stroke.

Dr.Macleod lists 5 different treatments.

1. Acontium

2. Opium

3. Conium

4. Bufo

5. Arnica

Each one does different things but number 3. Conium is useful in older animals. Prominent among its indications are weakness in the hind legs after recovery. Suggested potency 30c daily for 10 days.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any of this in my stockpile yet. I DO however, have the Arnica which is a general homeopath to give for any injury. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to start him on that until the Conium arrives.

On the plus side, he hasn’t peed on his bedding in 2 days, saving me AND my washer an extra load, and he still eats like a pig and drinks water. I think the Vitamin C, given in small doses so as not to cause diarrhea, is helping is overall condition.